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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28484493">Borough of Manhattan Community College</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Greenleaf/pseuds/Kat_Greenleaf'>Kat_Greenleaf</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>80s Aerobics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Professors, Bottom Steve Rogers, Coffee, Coffee Addict Tony Stark, Dom/sub Undertones, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Minor Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson, Minor Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Steve teaches Health and Phys Ed, Tony teaches Engineering, Top Tony Stark, but not really, the boys are bad at communication</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:54:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,781</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28484493</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Greenleaf/pseuds/Kat_Greenleaf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers had joined the Borough of Manhattan Community College’s wellness department at the beginning of the year, which Tony would have never known, except he kept bumping into him in the break room. The first week, after they bumped into each other for the first time and Steve shyly introduced himself, Tony hopped onto the interwebs to see if he could figure out this guy’s deal. Homemade, 80s-style, aerobic workout videos were not at all what Tony had been expecting. </p><p>Regardless, they simultaneously fueled the crush Tony had developed, and made it a million times more impossible to look Steve in the eye at work. Which was a problem. Because Steve had been trying to ask Tony on a date for weeks with no success, and it was becoming quite frustrating.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Minor or Background Relationship(s), Steve Rogers/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>116</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Tony</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For firulaispng on tumblr, based on her post: https://firulaispng.tumblr.com/post/636118532650893312/aerobics-steve-home-workout-videos-chat-with</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The coffee was taking too long in the percolator, and Tony didn’t know why he bothered to make it there in the break room instead of bringing his own. It was the only thing that could get him properly functioning in the morning. But if nothing else, he sighed, pushing his glasses back up his nose, it forced him to take a couple minutes to pause – and maybe look over some of the papers he was supposed to grade a month ago. The door to the break room opened, and his eyes immediately flicked up to see if it was Mr. Tall Blonde and Gorgeous on his break. It was not, and Tony could focus back on the papers in his hand. Sort of. His eyes kept turning towards the door.</p><p>Steve Rogers had joined the Borough of Manhattan Community College’s wellness department at the beginning of the year, which Tony would have never known, except he kept bumping into him in the break room. The school was big enough, he figured they probably shouldn’t be seeing each other as much as they did, but it was fine. It was fine. Tony’s freshman class assured him that Mr. Rogers was a nice guy; that he made their wellness requirement fun and engaging; that he was really nice and didn’t push anyone too hard in the physical activity portion of the class.  According to Riri and Doreen, he was also cutely oblivious to how often his students checked him out in his workout gear.</p><p>For the record, Tony was able to keep his disagreement to himself, and he totally did not laugh out loud when Doreen sighed sweetly about it. And even if he did, he’d hidden expertly it behind a series of coughs. Peter didn’t even ask what was wrong, and did he need water, because if he did, Peter had brought an extra bottle.</p><p>Ahem.</p><p>The first week, after they bumped into each other for the first time and Steve shyly introduced himself, Tony hopped onto the interwebs to see if he could figure out this guy’s deal. Was he single? Did he like men at all? Was he out? The videos Tony found were pretty self-explanatory. At least in the fact that, yeah, Steve probably knew he looked good working out.  </p><p>Homemade, 80s-style, aerobic workout videos were not at all what Tony had been expecting. But there they were, featuring BMCC’s very own Mr. Rogers – in gaudy leggings, a leotard, a skin-tight crop top, and, damn him, a bright pink sweatband – doing stretches and exercises that certainly didn’t leave much to Tony’s imagination. Or much question to whether he might be queer. The leggings, really, were what gave him away, Tony had thought. Tony also tended to think about how far he was able to spread his legs. It was truly insane, how flexible Steve was.</p><p>“Don’t stop stretching those legs!” Steve would say, grinning and winking at the camera, capping off each episode with his foot stretched up over his head, showing off his impressive calf and thigh and…</p><p>And making Tony totally incapable of looking him in the eye at work ever again. Hence, checking to make sure he hadn’t walked into the breakroom yet, leaving time for Tony to make a quick escape once the coffee was done. The coffee machine was still percolating. He scratched anxiously at his goatee, unable to focus on Harley’s equations. After several attempts to focus on the page, Tony stuffed it back into his paper holder and huffed. He stared at the coffee maker and willed it to go faster. Tony glanced up as the door opened again, and quickly forced his gaze to stay on the coffee as Steve walked in. Hurry the fuck up, Tony willed the coffee pot. As soon as it spat the last few drops, Tony filled his mug and replaced the pot, quickly turning to leave and rush to his office.</p><p>“Good morning, Tony, how-”</p><p>“Hi Rogers, bye Rogers, got shit to do, have a good day, etcetera, etcetera,” Tony babbled, rushing past Steve and out of the room. He didn’t look at Steve’s face, barely resisting the urge to check out his legs and ass as he left.</p><p>Tony was so, so incredibly screwed.</p><p>Leaving work unnoticed was pretty easy, even wearing the large bright red and gold jacket Rhodey had given him for Christmas last winter. Tony slipped out of his office at the end of his day, his classes finished, and his office hours concluding at three o’ clock. He locked his door at exactly that time and speed walked out to the garage, only breathing easy once he was safely inside his car. He drove home to his family’s old mansion. The one good thing about living alone in such a big place, he supposed, was the privacy it afforded.</p><p>That didn’t mean Tony was proud of what he did with that privacy. He resisted his laptop as long as possible. It stayed in his bedroom while he set up in the dining room to grade all the papers he’d been forgetting in his office for a month. Dinner was ordered and consumed as he graded. He forced himself to think of his students; Peter, Doreen, Riri, Harley… Everyone was expecting their papers back before their finals and he really needed to get this done. As the temperature dropped quickly with the sun, Tony grabbed a blanket instead of turning up the heat. Anything to remind him that crop tops were not appropriate things to think about right now. It was too cold for that.</p><p>It didn’t seem to matter though, as he went up to get ready for bed. He needed to shower, but he kept looking back over at his laptop. He had only seen Steve once today, barely, which a little unusual, and it would be so easy to just look up the videos.</p><p>No, he was going to shower. He was going to shower and go to bed and not think about it.</p><p>Tony started to walk, intending to head into the bathroom. But his feet took him over to the desk, to his laptop. It was habit by now, relaxing by watching one of the videos. At least, he thought, he didn’t just sit there and watch it like a creep. He did some of the stretches – kind of – trying to follow along with Steve’s movements. Steve made it look so easy, but Tony was huffing slightly as the video came to a close.</p><p>“Don’t stop stretching those legs!” Steve grinned and winked from Tony’s computer.</p><p>The video froze, finished, and Tony quickly shut the laptop, sighing heavily at himself as he walked towards the bathroom. He showered and went to bed, curling up with his back facing the desk. He determinedly kept his hands above his belt, not wanting to add to his shame. God, if he did that, he’d have to change schools probably. He’d never be able to look Steve in the eyes again.  </p><p>Saturdays were new video days. Tony didn’t really like that he knew that. He glanced over at the laptop, and decided that today, he would not give in. During breakfast, as he scrolled through the news, he kept telling himself, no, he wasn’t going to watch today. He tried to grade a few more papers that he’d had to set aside the night before, but he was still distracted. Tony sighed, biting the bullet, and pulled his phone out to call Rhodey. At least he knew when to call in the cavalry.</p><p>“Hey, Tones,” Rhodey answered, “what’s wrong?”</p><p>Tony pouted, stalling, “Why’s something have to be wrong, Platypus? Can’t I just call my best friend on my day off?”</p><p>“You only call when something’s wrong,” Rhodey huffed, though his smile was evident in his tone. “Otherwise, you text and demand I come over to give you attention.” Tony couldn’t really argue, and there was a beat or several of silence, before he heard Rhodey sigh, “Is this about the gym teacher again?”</p><p>“I’ve got a problem,” Tony admitted. The first step was admitting that you had a problem. “You remember I told you I found out he makes those aerobics videos?” He waited for Rhodey’s affirmative response. “I keep watching them. I can’t even look him in the eye properly at work anymore.”</p><p>Rhodey sighed, again, and Tony could imagine him shaking his head. “Tony,” he let that word, saturated in disappointment, linger before continuing, “this is because you like him, right? You’re not becoming a stalker or anything?”</p><p>“No! No, I’d never… I’d never <em>stalk</em> him.” Keep up on his aerobics videos, maybe, but not stalk. “I just think he’s adorable and his videos are adorable and his outfit is honestly really-”</p><p>“Adorable?” Rhodey cut him off, finishing the thought for him. “You see him at work, right? Ask him out for coffee or something.”</p><p>“That would be so awkward though!” Tony insisted. “I keep avoiding him whenever he tries to talk to me because I’m embarrassed about the videos. There’s no way he’d say yes.”</p><p>The line was silent just a moment before Rhodey pointed out, “If he’s still trying to talk to you, it can’t be that bad.” Tony hadn’t considered that. Rhodey continued, “Just see if he wants to get coffee, okay? The worst he could do is say no.”</p><p>Tony frowned a little to himself, chewing on his bottom lip. “Well, only if you come over to eat ice cream and watch <em>Mean Girls</em> when he does.”</p><p>He could feel Rhodey’s eye roll, but could also hear his smile, “You mean to celebrate when he says yes.”</p><p>“Sure, right, whatever.” Tony’s eyes flicked over to the laptop. Steve would say no at some point, when he found out about the videos, even if he did say yes to one coffee date. The videos. Steve was putting out a new video today. Damn it, he’d almost managed to let it go. “Rhodey, hey, can you stay on the phone with me for a bit? Or come over?”</p><p>“You okay?” Rhodey’s tone immediately shifted to concern, and Tony couldn’t help a smile.</p><p>“Yeah. But, um, today is the, uh… Steve puts out new videos on Saturdays. I’m trying not to be creepy today. Could you just come over, and we can hang out?”</p><p>“Oh.” He sounded relieved, and maybe a little proud. “Yeah, sure, I can come over. I’ll bring pizza and we can watch a movie instead. Go ahead and pick a couple out, and I’ll be there soon. Okay, Tones?”</p><p>“Thanks, Sourpatch,” Tony sighed, relaxing a little as they hung up. He could do this.</p><p>The movie night ended up being a success, and Tony didn’t watch the new video until Sunday night. He even did a better job of moving along instead of just watching. And if he thought of Steve’s muscled legs in those wonderfully ridiculous tights in the shower later? Didn’t matter. Nunya business.</p><p>Monday morning, Tony brought coffee from home, shame heating his cheeks at the mere thought of running into Steve in the break room. But by lunch, his thermos was empty and he needed more. He fidgeted with his glasses as he stared at the clock, trying to decide if he had time to make a pot in the break room without being caught. If he waited any longer, though, he’d be late for the lab section of his engineering class. He took a deep breath and slipped out of his room. The hall was pretty empty. Sweet.</p><p>Tony hurried into the break room. He started the coffee as quickly as he could, watching the door from the corner of his eye the whole time. The coffee was a cup away from finishing the pot when Steve appeared in the window of the door. Tony looked quickly away, but it didn’t prevent Steve from entering the room. Rhodey’s insistence that he ask Steve out had not been forgotten. But as Tony was suddenly faced with the real-life situation, his embarrassment took over. There was no way it was going to happen.</p><p>“Good morning, Tony.”</p><p>Tony didn’t – couldn’t – look up from the coffee pot, which was still not full for some reason, damn it.</p><p>“Morning, Rogers,” he answered, unintentionally short.</p><p>There was an awkward silence as the coffee pot sputtered, and Tony quickly pulled it off the burner to fill his thermos. Steve shuffled into his peripheral vision and leaned against the counter, though that was awkward as well; Steve was holding himself stiffly.</p><p>“So, um, I was wondering-”</p><p>Tony screwed on the cap of his thermos.</p><p>“-if you might be free this weekend. I have a friend who works at this café-”</p><p>Tony put the pot back and took long strides towards the door, hoping to keep his rising blush hidden.</p><p>“-downtown, would you like to go with me?” Steve’s question trailed off a little at the end, and when Tony glanced back, he looked confused. The furrow between his brows was, frankly, adorable. Tony needed to get out of there.</p><p>“Unfortunately, I have to go supervise a lab period,” he said, having missed most of Steve’s question. “See you around. Bye.” He rushed out of the room, and down the hall. He glanced at his watch, relaxing a little as he realized he’d make it to class on time.</p><p>Doreen and Riri were already in the lab when he arrived, working on their duo project. They barely glanced up at him as he set up at the desk in front of the room, which was just fine. It gave him a moment to pull himself together. However, when he looked back up from organizing his papers and setting up his laptop, both ladies were looking at him. It would’ve been fine, if maybe they needed help or something, but Riri looked smug and Doreen was grinning at him. He looked back and forth between them as they both continued to say nothing.</p><p>“Alright, I give, ladies. Is there something on my shirt?” He looked down, but there was nothing on him. None of his pens had burst in his shirt pocket.</p><p>“You’re blushing, Dr. Stark,” Doreen sing-songed.</p><p>Tony felt his face flush more, which made Riri laugh and nudge Doreen, “I bet it’s because he saw Rogers in the break room again.” She looked back at Tony, eyebrow still raised, “Was he in gym clothes? Sometimes, he wears crop-tops to work out in.”</p><p>“No,” Tony answered, maybe a little too quickly. He would’ve noticed if Steve was in a crop top. He probably would’ve combusted. “He wears crop-tops?”</p><p>“Oh, c’mon, Stark, you can’t tell me you never noticed!” Riri laughed. “Not with all that mooning over him you’ve been doing all semester.”</p><p>On the contrary, crop-tops were Tony’s favorite thing to see Steve in. He just didn’t think he could ever handle seeing it at school. “Never seen him in one in the break room. Sorry.”</p><p>“Not in the break room? Where then?” Doreen said, cheekily.</p><p>Tony pointed at them, “Alright, okay, that’s enough. You forget that I have the ability to fail you both.”</p><p>“Why are we failing Williams and Green?” Harley asked, drawing everyone’s attention as he and Peter walked into the lab.</p><p>Tony glanced at the clock, sighing as he realized they were late, “Maybe I was talking to you and Parker, Keener, if you both don’t start taking your attendance seriously.”</p><p>Peter smiled shyly and walked with Harley over to their lab table. Harley just grinned over at Tony, and then turned to Riri and repeated his question. Doreen answered him, though, her grin still plastered wide on her face.</p><p>“Crop tops.”</p><p>Peter looked up, face scrunched in confusion, “Crop tops?”</p><p>“Enough!” Tony interjected, before it could get out of hand again. There was no way he was letting this discussion take over their breakout session. “This is your last lab before large lecture on Friday. Please, make the most of it.”</p><p>The ladies were still smiling and giggling between themselves as they turned back to their work. Tony sighed, ignoring Harley’s quiet laughter in favor of getting his laptop properly booted up. He opened the gradebook to start putting in the grades from all the papers he’d gone over that weekend. The gentlemen didn’t seem to be discussing their work like the ladies, rather, Harley was explaining to Peter about the crop tops, making Peter gasp. But at this point, Tony just worked on tuning them out. They were smart kids, and if they were going to gossip instead of work, Tony was going to let them figure out how they failed the assignment on their own. He’d given them enough warnings.</p><p>Now, if only he could as easily tune out the thought of Steve in a crop top. Tony bit his lip, and firmly did not look up when he heard Riri and Doreen snickering.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Steve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Finding a job in New York had been harder than Steve expected. Several schools rejected his applications with little explanation, and the ones that did explain were worried about his online presence. Steve’s last school, in Indiana, hadn’t cared much when he started making cheesy, 80s themed aerobic videos, as long as he didn’t advertise his YouTube channel to his classes. But it seemed that having teachers that might also be influencers in some way was not something that other schools were willing to risk.</p><p>Steve understood, he really did. But it made job hunting more frustrating than he thought it really needed to be. He was a physical activities teacher, what was wrong with making workout videos? It wasn’t as if he was using them to teach his class. They might even inspire his students to do some working out on their own if they found them. But whatever. He kept sending out applications, and eventually he heard back from the Borough of Manhattan Community College. It was close enough to his apartment in Manhattan and his Ma’s place in Brooklyn, and they seemed to not mind his little side gig. So, of course, Steve took the job before they could change their minds!</p><p>The first week was a little nerve wracking. He’d done his research on the institution before applying, but Steve had a wealth of experience in taking jobs out of desperation. Often, he ended up hating the job, either due to rude coworkers or management. But Dr. T’Challa, the principal, was very kind and seemed mostly amused by Steve’s video series. They agreed that it wasn’t harmful, and might be motivating if found. Everyone else on staff was welcoming, and Steve found himself drawn especially to one engineering professor, Dr. Tony Stark.</p><p>Tony had introduced himself to Steve in the break room during Steve’s first week. His fluffy hair and large glasses – and wow, he even kept pens in his shirt pocket, with a pocket protector – were so adorable and Steve couldn’t help the little crush that instantly formed. He thought, at the time, it might have been returned. They kind of danced around each other for a while. Though, Tony seemed to avoid Steve more and more as the semester went on.</p><p>“Stevie, just ask him out,” Bucky sighed, when Steve talked to him about it. “Just ask him! He probably thinks you don’t actually like him anymore.”</p><p>But lately, even when Steve kept trying to ask Tony out, for just a cup of coffee, Tony would rush out of the room, avoiding Steve completely. It happened again today, Tony giving some excuse about having class and then rushing off. It was like he hadn’t even heard Steve.</p><p>Steve sighed, and then took deep breath, pouring just a bit of the coffee into his mug. He still had another class today; he didn’t want to have too much. He took another deep breath. Tony probably didn’t mean to be rude. He was probably just busy with his classes. It was the end of the semester after all. Maybe once finals were done, he’d try again. Just because Steve didn’t have a lot of papers and such to grade didn’t mean other professors didn’t. He needed to log some attendance grades, paperwork grades for his health classes, and he would need to get the fitness exam scores in, but he should be fine for another week or so. He headed back to the fitness center, letting himself back into his office so that he could change. He was lucky enough that he was allowed to wear clothes that he was comfortable in to work out with his students.  It might be getting cold outside, but nothing beat sweats and a short top – not a crop top, but only because of his teacher dress code. He put on his sneakers and moved out into the workout room, checking and wiping down the equipment before class.</p><p>Half an hour before class was supposed to start, M.J. walked in, sitting over on a bench and pulling out her sketchbook. Steve didn’t like to say he had favorite students, but M.J. was definitely a favorite. She wasn’t a wellness major, just taking his class to fill her general education requirements, but she always arrived early to sit and draw. Steve had been an art student at one point, and still liked art. He also enjoyed expressing that in new ways – like wacky, old-fashioned aerobics videos.</p><p>After a few minutes, he broke the silence, “What’s the project today?” He liked being able to talk with her about art. Bucky didn’t exactly know much, no matter how much Steve ranted to him about it.</p><p>“Just sketching, today,” M.J. answered, still sketching. A small smirk appeared as she switched her focus from the drawing up to Steve. “Working on figures.”</p><p>Steve narrowed his eyes back at her, “Who is it?” He knew that look; she was teasing him. Again.</p><p>“Just Dr. Stark.” She glanced down at the page, and gasped in exaggerated shock. “Oh, and you’re there too.”</p><p>“Michelle,” he sighed, but was unable to hold back his nervous smile. He tried to cover it with his hand.</p><p>“Hey, Mr. Rogers, c’mon. I <em>know</em> you like him. And I <em>know</em> he likes you back – probably. You just gotta stop being so shy about it.”</p><p>First Bucky, and now M.J. It was almost laughable. Was he really that obvious, even here at school? “You know that I don’t think this is an appropriate conversation for us to have.”</p><p>“Yeah, but Peter says Dr. Stark is just as bad as you are, so maybe you just need us to talk you guys into it.” She closed her sketchbook, smiling. “Besides, Peter promises Tony’s really nice.”</p><p>Really nice? Steve’s smile dimmed, placating. “Maybe he is,” he allowed, “but we’re not going to talk about it right now.” He turned away to continue wiping down the equipment he planned for the class to use. Thankfully, his other students began to trickle in, stopping any further conversation about Tony.</p><p>The class period passed just fine, but Steve couldn’t seem to get M.J.’s words out of his head. Really nice. It wasn’t “really nice” of him to give a lame excuse or be rude and walk out on Steve every time he tried to have a conversation with Tony. It wasn’t “really nice” of him to be kind to everyone in the building except, apparently, Steve.</p><p>It wasn’t “really nice” of him to take up so much space in Steve’s head while he was supposed to be working. He huffed softly to himself as he watched the class start on their partner workouts. He needed to focus, no matter how much he was frustrated with Tony; or how much he wanted to have coffee with Tony and make him laugh. Steve smiled a little to himself. Maybe Tony was just shy. Maybe Bucky was right, and Tony was unsure if Steve liked him that way. There was no way for him to know until he asked.</p><p>He caught M.J. smirking at him, and sent her an unimpressed frown. She rolled her eyes and focused back on her partner.</p><p>As the end of the class time neared, Steve passed out disinfectant wipes for everyone to clean their equipment. Cleanup went quickly, since all of his students had somewhere to be afterwards. M.J. gave him a wave and pointed stare as she left. Steve chose to ignore the latter action, though he did smile and wave back. He changed in his office, and made his way down to the garage. His thunderbird was waiting for him near the door. He straddled the bike, walking it down to the first level to exit the parking garage.</p><p>The ride home went smoothly, and he locked up his bike carefully in his building’s garage. Maria was at the desk, and he gave her a wave as he checked his mail. He met up with his neighbors, Bucky and his partner Sam, in the elevator, and invited them over for dinner later. Bucky gave him a look, like he knew something was up, but Sam agreed easily and promised they would provide the beer, “As long as you order the pizza.” Steve laughed and agreed, just the same as every other time they hung out at Steve’s place.</p><p>Alone in his apartment, Steve felt like he could finally relax a little more. He dropped his bag by the door and kicked off his shoes. The apartment was sunny, and he was glad he’d remembered to open the blinds before he left that morning. Paint tubes and brushes still littered the corner of the living room from the weekend. Steve didn’t really feel like cleaning up his supplies, though. It was delightfully chaotic.</p><p>Not all of his paintings were especially good, and he often painted over them. But it was a good way to distract him and keep him offline during the weekends after he posted a new video. Steve learned quickly that waiting for views and likes made him anxious. He preferred to wait until Sunday evening to log back on and check the stats. Painting had been more important lately, he thought, because his numbers had been rising. If he were to watch, he might worry about reaching a certain number, and that wasn’t healthy either.</p><p>Steve changed into his costume, getting ready to film a new video for this week. He started with his dance belt, and then pulled on his tights, unashamed of his pride at how good his legs looked in them. Checking himself out in the mirror, in just the tights yet, he couldn’t help but laugh softly. They were ugly, but they had one of those fun, 80s-roller-rink-carpet patters on them, which always made him smile. The colors popped, and that was what he liked about them. He slid his leotard up to his hips, leaving it there as he pondered which crop top to wear this week.</p><p>“No… No… No, that was two weeks ago… Nah…” he mumbled to himself as he flipped through them.</p><p>They all had bright colors that matched his tights. Steve ordered them specially for this purpose. Finally, he settled on a skin-tight, bright aqua top with a light magenta star, and the matching magenta sweatband. He wondered if people would leave comments about him wearing too much “pink”, but he didn’t mind. He thought it was fun.</p><p>Steve made his way into the office to set up the backdrop and camera. It was the only room in the apartment with wood flooring, so it was ideal for his workout mats. Right next to the desk, on which his camera was propped, he set up his freestanding whiteboard and wrote out the workout he’d decided on. He tried to switch it up week to week, moving around the focus, or at least mixing around the order. Eventually, he would probably run out of combinations and have to adapt his genre. Maybe he could do different decades of workout fads. Or maybe he would keep the 80s aesthetic. He did like that best.</p><p>He finished writing out the routine and then pulled his leotard up the rest of the way, making sure the low cut was centered and the straps weren’t twisted. Steve felt himself settle into his video persona, his shoulders loosening and his smile widening. A pack of water bottles sat just out of view of the camera, and Steve set his boombox up right next to it, picking out a good CD. He grabbed one water bottle and took a good drink, setting it within reach, and then turned on his camera to get to work.</p><p>The workout was fairly easy for him, as he went through the warmup, the workout, and then the cool down stretches. After he finished, he sat on the floor and folded one leg close to his body. He held his other foot, and lifted it above his head, fully straightening out his leg. He switched legs, stretching the other the same sway, and grinned, winking at the camera, as always.</p><p>“Don’t stop stretching those legs!” he reminded, and then held the pose for a moment before bringing his leg back down. He stood carefully, and turned off the camera.</p><p>Immediately, Steve hooked up the camera to his home computer and started downloading today’s footage. He grabbed his water bottle, finishing off the last bit before taking a second out of the pack. He left the office, sitting on the couch in the living room to check his work laptop. Finals season was always busy, and he needed to stay on top of grading. No one seemed to have uploaded anything yet this afternoon, but Steve left the tab open, knowing his health class had an assignment due by 11:59. Some would send them in before supper, and some. Steve knew, he wouldn’t see until the next morning.</p><p>A shower was in order. Once the sweat of Steve’s day and workout were washed away, he pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a loose crop top. It was one of the first ones he used in videos, but it was too loose to really work with the leotard anymore. The soft, faded blue with a white star on the front was kind of comforting though, so he’d kept it. He ambled back into the living room, and checked his laptop again as he called to order a couple pizzas. One or two assignments had been turned in and he was able to grade them both before the pizzas arrived.</p><p>He knocked solidly on the wall between his apartment and Bucky and Sam’s. He set the pizzas up on the coffee table and pulled up Netflix as he waited for them to let themselves in. The door opened soon enough, and Steve was looking at another assignment on his laptop as Bucky approached, ruffling Steve’s hair before flopping down on the couch next to him.</p><p>“You got a date yet, Stevie?” Bucky asked, pressing a beer into Steve’s hand and reaching for a slice of pizza.</p><p>Steve rolled his eyes and finished putting in the grade for the assignment before setting his laptop aside. “You couldn’t even wait to ask, could you?”</p><p>“Hey, I didn’t ask in the elevator up, you should be impressed.”</p><p>Steve rolled his eyes again as Sam sat down on Bucky’s other side. “For some reason, I’m not very reassured.”</p><p>Sam laughed, and reached across Bucky to give Steve’s shoulder a squeeze. “No reason you should be, he’s been antsy about it all weekend.” Sam picked up a slice of pizza and took a bite before adding, “But so have I. So, spill.”</p><p>No rest for the wicked, Steve supposed. He just sighed and gave in, “Well, I asked him for coffee next weekend.” The pause after his answer was far too lengthy as Bucky and Sam just stared. “What?”</p><p>“And?” Bucky pressed. “What did he say?”</p><p>“He… said he had a class to teach, and then left the room.”</p><p>The confused expressions on his friends faces let Steve relax a little, feeling validated. He continued to explain that he figured Tony probably hadn’t really been listening to his question and just ran away from him. Because, as he figured before, Tony didn’t like Steve. This prompted Bucky to continue his insistence that Tony was just shy and that Steve needed to grow a pair and ask him out.</p><p>“You gotta drop the sweet guy routine and just be direct,” Bucky huffed, shoving Steve’s shoulder. “You think I managed to land Sam by sitting back and telling him I knew where we could get really good coffee?”</p><p>“Bucky, babe, that’s exactly-”</p><p>“But you’re you, Sammy, I knew it would work. It ain’t gonna work on this Tony Stark guy.”</p><p>“And how would you know, huh? You ever met him?”</p><p>“No, but I…”</p><p>Steve tuned them out, but he didn’t really mind their bickering. It was kind of sweet that they cared. Bucky was probably right though. He needed to be more direct with Tony. It was a Monday, after all, maybe it had just been a rough morning.</p><p>So, the next day, at lunch, Steve waited in the break room, hoping to run into Tony. He was fairly certain they had the same break on Tuesdays, so he waited, watching the clock. Half an hour passed, and there was still no sign of Tony. Steve was beginning to wonder if maybe he was confused when the door opened, and Tony walked in, looking over his shoulder into the hall as he closed the door. He turned and made eye contact with Steve, and nearly jumped six feet.</p><p>“Christ!” he gasped, hand over his heart as his other hand gripped his thermos, white-knuckled.</p><p>Steve felt bad, so he stood and started backing up a little to the coffee maker. “Sorry, Tony, I didn’t mean to scare you. But, um, I was hoping to see you. I thought maybe we could talk.” He pulled the pot of coffee off the warmer in offering. “How do you like your coffee?”</p><p>Tony stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “Why?” he asked, instead of answering. “Are you stalking me? Why were you waiting in here for me?”</p><p>“I wasn’t-”</p><p>“And why do you care so much about my coffee habits, huh? Kinda cu-, um, creepy, Rogers.” Tony was starting to blush, but it didn’t seem like it was from anger… “No one makes coffee as good as me anyways. I’ve never seen you make coffee, either, I don’t trust it. Bye, have a nice day.”</p><p>If possible, Tony looked even more nervous as he ran out of the break room. Steve didn’t know what he’d done to make Tony act like that, but he didn’t appreciate his accusations. He huffed and put the coffee pot back, maybe a little rougher than he’d intended. This was way more difficult than he thought. Even opening a conversation with Tony was proving to be impossible. Impossible, Steve mused, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. When had Steve Rogers ever backed down from something impossible?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>By the way, BMCC is a real community college, and their mascot is the Panthers, which was too good an opportunity to let slide. So, T'Challa is the principal.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Tony</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony brought two thermoses to work now. One stayed warm tucked into a backpack with his lunch until he finished the first. He kept a mug in his desk, to make sure he paced himself. The worried looks the Riri and Doreen sent him – <em>often </em>– let him know they had noticed. Their worry was unwarranted, of course.</p><p>“Uh, hey, Dr. Stark? Sir?”</p><p>Tony looked up from his paperwork, sighing softly. He really needed to get his grading done before he gave his final exam. “Yes, Peter?”</p><p>“Are you alright?”</p><p>As he glanced behind Peter, he could see Harley and the girls sitting together and pretending not to listen. He looked back up at Peter, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. “They put you up to asking, huh?” But it wasn’t really much of a question. Tony stood to address all four of them, arms crossed, “I’m fine. Okay? I don’t know why you’re all such Nervous Nellies all the sudden.”</p><p>Riri rolled her eyes, as if it should’ve been obvious. “You haven’t been to the break room in, like, <em>weeks</em>, Tony. What happened to your man?”</p><p>“First of all, it’s only been a week. Second of all, he’s not my man.” He saw both Doreen and Riri open their mouths to argue and barreled on, gesticulating. “<em>Third of all</em>, this has nothing to do with anything. I just have a lot to work on, so I’m buckling down and getting my work done in here, okay? I brought my own coffee so I don’t need to leave for anything.”</p><p>The fact that it allowed him to ignore Steve was just a convenient coincidence. A perk. Well, not a perk, but it was a good thing. Probably. Especially after the way he’d run out on Steve last time.</p><p>God, Tony had been such an idiot. Steve was just trying to be nice, asking how Tony liked his coffee; offering to fix it for him. And what had Tony done? He’d insulted Steve’s coffee and called him creepy. How awful was that? Pretty damn awful. Terrible. Horrible. No good, very bad. Steve was so sweet, and Tony ruined it.</p><p>He hadn’t really tried to make it better, either, unfortunately. Rhodey told him he ought to, and he knew that. But the thought of looking Steve in the eye after an incident like that made him feel ashamed all over again. He just couldn’t do it. So, thermoses it was. He tried his best to be quick in the halls and stay in his office and classrooms only. Once or twice this week he’d almost been caught by Steve, but he managed to get away. Hopefully he could just hold out until after finals, and then let things calm down over the break.</p><p>“He’s acting weird, too,” Peter said, softly, and all heads turned to him.</p><p>“Peter,” Tony warned.</p><p>“No, really,” Peter insisted, and then took a deep breath. “M.J. says he’s been acting weird in class. Like, he’s upset about something. He won’t talk to her about art anymore, and she’s pretty bummed about it.”</p><p>Tony crossed his arms again, “And you think this has something to do with me?”</p><p>“She thinks so,” Peter confirmed, shrugging. “I’m inclined to believe her. She’s smart about this stuff.” After a moment of Tony giving him a <em>look</em>, Peter shrugged and went to sit back with Harley. “Just saying.”</p><p>The girls were looking at him expectantly, and Harley looked like he was about to laugh at him. Tony pointed his finger at them each in turn.</p><p>“You’re all being little shits. Work on your project before I fail all of you.”</p><p>Harley did laugh at him, but turned to his work. “Yeah, alright, whatever. You know we’re right.”</p><p>Tony’s jaw dropped at his student’s audacity, but the others’ laughter kept him from saying anything. They were working again, too, so he couldn’t in good conscious interrupt them. He sighed and sat back down, continuing to grade papers.</p><p>Even though Steve was apparently as bothered at Tony was, Tony figured it was probably because he was pissed. Which, well, he couldn’t be blamed for. Tony certainly wouldn’t blame him. So, he worked harder to avoid him, keeping enough distance to hopefully let some of the tension dissipate. He used staircases he didn’t usually, and stayed in his office later than his normal hours. Before the week was over Peter told him one more time that Steve was still upset. It seemed like maybe it was to get him to take the first step, but it just made Tony want to hunker down even longer.</p><p>Unfortunately, Tony’s hand was forced.</p><p>Finals were almost over. He almost made it. But Thursday, the second to last day of finals week, Tony’s second thermos went missing.</p><p>Every morning for the past two weeks, Tony filled and packed two thermoses of coffee before heading to work. Now, he might have been awake all night to try and catch up on his grading, but there was no way he’d forgotten his second thermos. Except, it wasn’t in his bag. It wasn’t on his desk. It wasn’t in his office, or in the lab. It certainly wasn’t in the break room, even though Doreen and Harley suggested he look there while Riri and Peter snickered with each other.</p><p>For half a second, Tony considered that his kids had done something. But he was pretty sure they wouldn’t. Would they?</p><p>It didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to the break room during class hours. Lunch was still in his bag, so he would just have that and power through the afternoon. It almost worked, too. The problem was, he really needed his thermos, and he still couldn’t find it. The kids were adamant that he should look in the break room. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t been there all day, or that they swore they hadn’t touched it; it had to be there.</p><p>Tony wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of looking during class hours. It didn’t matter that Steve shouldn’t be in the building today, because Tony knew he didn’t have Thursday classes this late. Something hinky was going on. He wasn’t going to fall for it.</p><p>He gave the kids their final, a one-sheet test that he made easy on purpose. That last project was what really counted, he thought, but he had to give them a test, per university policy. It was done in ten minutes, and he let them go early. He’d have another group in tomorrow and give them the same thing, and then he’d be done for the semester. Winter break would give him some time to get over Steve, and let Steve chill out, and they could come back in January and just… ignore each other. It would be fine.</p><p>Grading the tests took him less than an hour, including putting in the grades. Last night, he’d managed to get caught up on the project grading, so all his grades would be in on time this semester. Good thing, too, because he was pretty sure T’Challa was sick of getting complaints from Dr. Richards, the department head, about Tony’s tardiness. He’d manage to keep himself around for another couple years probably if he could keep this up.</p><p>Tony watched the clock for a couple minutes, trying to decide if he really wanted to check the break room. On one hand, he might run into people if he waited until tomorrow, and he wouldn’t have two thermoses in the morning. On the other, his students were clearly up to something, and that just didn’t sit well with him. If he got it over with, though, his winter break plans could proceed without any hiccups. He took a deep breath, and packed up his bag before slipping into the hallway.</p><p>So far, so good. The hall was empty and quiet. Tony hurried down to the break room, listening outside for a moment before opening the door. Silence had to be good, right?</p><p>Oh, fuck.</p><p>Steve was standing by the coffee machine. Steve was there. On his day off. Next to Tony thermos, which was sitting on the counter beside him.</p><p>Oh, <em>fuck</em>.</p><p>He was wearing the tights. <em>The</em> tights. And a leotard. Tony could imagine the crop top he was probably wearing, but it was hidden under Steve’s winter coat. Steve gave him an awkward smile and wave, and then pointed over at the thermos.</p><p>“M.J., one of my students, her boyfriend is in your engineering class, she told me to give this back to you. I don’t know why she had it. She said I needed to wait in here.” He shrugged a little, and Tony couldn’t believe the blush on Steve’s cheeks. “Said I could thank her later as an apology for being an ass the last couple weeks.” He smiled, sheepish, “Wouldn’t usually let a student talk to me like that, but I know she’s right. I just-”</p><p>“Why are you here?” Tony interrupted. Steve wasn’t supposed to be here.</p><p>Steve blinked at him, looking a bit taken aback at the rudeness, but he let it slide. “My scheduled final time was today. I had to give a test.”</p><p>“Why are you wearing <em>that</em>?” Tony tried his hardest, but he legitimately could not take his eyes off Steve’s thighs. The print on the tights was hideous, and Tony felt his cheeks flush at how crazy it made him feel that he was <em>this close</em> to Steve in his <em>workout video costume</em>. Why did Steve have it on at school, anyways? There was no way he filmed his content here. That would be insane. There’s no way that would be approved. “You didn’t give a <em>final</em> wearing <em>that</em> did you? Rogers, what the hell?”</p><p>“No, I changed in my office,” Steve said, starting to sound pretty frustrated. “I… There’s equipment in the gym I needed for something, it doesn’t matter. Tony, just give me a second to-”</p><p>“Go change back? Sure. Jesus, what the hell are those?” He couldn’t stop it. Tony felt all his defenses going up. Damn the kids, he was going to fail all of them, honest to God, for cornering him like this. “Rogers those look like they walked straight out of the 80s. Did you make them? You can’t have bought them.” He hurried to grab his thermos as he babbled, backing towards the door, away from Steve, once he had it. His face was burning. “Did you steal a carpet from a roller rink? Or was it seat covers off a bus? Honestly, what do you have to say for yourself? Those are just… the ugliest tights I’ve ever seen.” And the most fabulous tights he’d ever seen, especially on Steve. But how could he say that?</p><p>He couldn’t say much else, either, because as he almost made it to the door, Steve blocked his way. The movement forced Tony to look up, away from the tights, and meet Steve’s eyes. Steve’s cheeks were flushed, and he looked about as red as Tony felt, but much angrier. Tony was almost afraid for a moment, but Steve just stayed back against the door, his hands clenched in his jacket pockets.</p><p>“Okay, what the fuck is your <em>problem</em> with me?” Steve snapped, before Tony could react to his movement. Tony took a couple steps back. Steve didn’t follow, but he kept talking. “I just wanted us to get coffee. ‘Cause I <em>like</em> you. You’re clever, and nice with the kids. My students always talk about you! M.J. keeps telling me how much Peter loves your class!” He huffed and his hands left his pockets, his arms crossing over his chest. He looked… insecure? “I want to meet the Tony they’re talking about,” Steve continued, his tone softening as his gaze dropped to the floor. “Can I take <em>that </em>Tony out for coffee instead of this version of you that’s being an ass?”</p><p>Steve didn’t look up at Tony until after he finished speaking. With his arms crossed, and his shoulders slumping, he looked more hurt than angry. Tony didn’t really know what to say.</p><p>“Black,” he blurted, after a moment of silence. Steve blinked, obviously unsure what Tony meant. Tony cleared his throat, “That’s how I like my coffee. Sometimes with sweetener, but only with breakfast.”</p><p>Silence continued to stretch between them, Steve’s eyes still wide with surprise. Tony sighed and ducked his head, setting aside his thermos.</p><p>“I’m… I’m sorry, I’ve been… an ass.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, and then fidgeted with his glasses. He forced himself to stop, tucking his hands into his pockets. “I just… Well, I mean, you’re really nice. And you were really sweet when you started, so I…” He felt his cheeks flush. “I kind of looked you up.” He didn’t look up; he didn’t want to see Steve’s expression.</p><p>“I found your, um, workout videos. I think it’s a really neat thing, cause that’s a… a genre not a lot of people do. The whole 80s… aesthetic, I mean. And you’re, I mean, you’re really good. The way you can stretch your leg up all the way like that? That’s really impressive.” Tony swallowed hard, feeling like he was starting to ramble. “And then I couldn’t stop watching them, because they’re good, your production value is actually really good. But I kept running into you at work and I felt bad because, I mean, I know what you look like in tights and they’re actually really fun tights, and I was so embarrassed and nervous to keep talking to you, so I didn’t and-”</p><p>Thankfully, Steve seemed to sense Tony’s growing panic over his runaway mouth, and he stepped closer, reaching up to cradle Tony’s face between his palms. The touch itself was enough to cut off Tony’s words, but looking up into Steve’s eyes, Tony was left totally speechless. Steve looked so relieved, a small smile pulling at his lips. It was better than any grin at the end of a video because, well gosh, it was just for Tony.</p><p>He was more surprised as Steve continued to lean in, pressing his lips against Tony’s. Tony only hesitated for half a moment before closing his eyes and kissing back. Distantly he hoped they wouldn’t both get a call from T’Challa about workplace indecency, but Steve wrapped his arms around Tony’s shoulders… and Tony couldn’t find it in himself to care anymore.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Steve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is the reason this fic is rated M, because I just wanted to be safe.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Steve hurried around to clean up his apartment. There wasn’t too much to clean up, though he did make sure to pick up the paints from the floor. He set up his office for filming and took a shower. While careful not to lose track of the time, Steve was thorough. He knew he’d be sweaty later after his workout, and he wanted to be prepared. Just in case.</p><p>Finals week had been stressful, not only with testing and getting his grades finished and submitted, but with his Tony situation. He kept trying to find him, or run into him by ‘accident’ to see if they could talk it out. Tony kept away pretty well though. That was before M.J. brought a large thermos into the final. Afterwards, she handed it to Steve, saying he needed to give it back to Tony in the break room. It was terribly suspicious, but if it <em>was</em> Tony’s, he really ought to return it.</p><p>Of course, much more happened besides just returning the thermos, Steve mused, smiling to himself. Never in a million years would he have guessed Tony was avoiding him because he was embarrassed about watching Steve’s videos. It was actually… kind of flattering.</p><p>With Christmas a week away and Steve going to spend the majority of the holiday at his Ma’s apartment, he and Tony had decided it might be best to get together beforehand. Nothing fancy, just to see if this was something they really wanted to pursue. Steve wanted to. He’d worked so hard to get to at least this point; he really hoped it didn’t end here. So, Tony was coming over the Thursday after finals. A week seemed appropriate, just to give them both time to relax after the stress of it all, and to think about what they wanted to do.</p><p>Because Tony liked Steve’s videos, Steve actually suggested Tony come have dinner at his place and see how Steve put his episodes together. He needed to re-film a section because he’d messed up in his original shooting. There was no rush, as he could finish editing easily enough on Friday. He figured Tony could watch, and it would be fun to show someone else this thing he enjoyed – especially since Tony enjoyed it as well.</p><p>Steve warned Sam and Bucky that morning. He didn’t know what all they’d be getting up to, but he did know that, no matter what he and Tony ended up doing, he didn’t want his friends to interrupt quite yet. Bucky bitched about it and Sam just winked, reminding him to use protection. Steve blushed, told Sam to fuck off, and hid back in his apartment. He vacuumed, swept, and picked up paints and tried not to think about doing things with Tony that would necessitate the condoms he’d stashed in his bedside table drawer.</p><p>More than once, Steve scrolled through his and Tony’s texts to make sure they hadn’t already made plans for food. It was almost five o’clock. He didn’t want to not prepare something if he was supposed to. Worrying about it was no use, though, after a thorough check. Steve focused on getting dressed. He put on the aqua top. The red one with the vivid orange star was fun, and, for some reason, he thought Tony would like it. But he’d worn the aqua and magenta one to film on Monday, so he needed to wear it again.</p><p>It was still a little early though, so Steve put on a sweater, leaving the leotard to hang around his hips. He was searching through his drawer for the correct headband and had only just managed to dig it up when there was a knock at his door. Immediately, he felt his cheeks flush with excitement and nerves. He reminded himself to take a deep breath, and then jogged to get the door, a grin already on his face as he opened it.</p><p>Maybe he was still a little in disbelief that Tony actually hadn’t run away again. He was <em>at Steve’s apartment</em>.</p><p>Oh geez.</p><p>Tony was indeed on the other side of the door, dressed in his usual slacks and button-up. He had forgone the pocket-protector, no pens or anything in his front pocket. His hands were folded behind his back, though Steve didn’t notice at first as they just smiled at each other. Tony revealed his hands then, holding out a small bouquet of orchids as his gaze flitted between Steve’s eyes and his tights.</p><p>“Hi, um, these are for you. I didn’t know what I should bring, but I wanted to bring you something.”</p><p>Steve accepted them before Tony could ramble; he seemed nervous enough. But it was good to see him.</p><p>He opened the door wider, stepping back to let Tony in. “They’re lovely, Tony. Thank you. Come in!”</p><p>Tony stepped quickly inside, like maybe Steve would close the door on him if he didn’t move fast enough. Steve closed the door and took Tony’s coat, hanging it up before motioning for him to follow Steve into the kitchen. The one vase he owned was in the back of his glasses cupboard, and he set a couple cups by the sink as he moved them around to find his vase, offering Tony a drink.</p><p>“Just water is fine, thanks,” Tony answered, his hands tucked into his pockets. His fingers were still visible, tapping against his thigh, even hidden in his slacks.</p><p>Steve smiled and poured them each a glass of water before filling the vase and giving the orchids a drink. He set the glasses on his kitchen table, pretending not to notice the way Tony was still attempting not to stare at his legs. They were quiet as they both sipped their water, just looking at each other for a moment. Together, they started to laugh softly, giggling over the rims of their glasses at each other.</p><p>“Sorry,” Steve sighed, once he had it under control again. “I’m not used to this, I guess I’m just… really glad you’re here at all.” He figured he probably ought to start some conversation, “How did your grading go?” That was a safe topic, something good to get them going. “I didn’t have a lot of paperwork to get in, but I imagine you would.”</p><p>It worked, and Tony opened up easily. “I actually got a lot done last week. Usually, I’m rushing and fighting with Richards to get off my ass. But, well, I mean, you know I was… being weird, so.” Steve just smiled at him, encouraging Tony to continue. He wasn’t really upset about it anymore. Tony smiled back and continued. “Well, I was in my classroom or office all the time, so I had a little more time, and I was keeping myself occupied so. I actually finished everything on time. Richards was impressed. T’Challa won’t call me into his office this year to tell me I have to stop getting Reed’s blood pressure up.”</p><p>Steve laughed softly and finished his glass of water, “Every time I hear about Dr. Richards, I simultaneously feel bad for him, and like he might deserve it.”</p><p>“Sounds about right,” Tony chuckled with him. He sipped his water, and Steve offered to refill it for him.</p><p>“We’re gonna be in the office a while, so…”</p><p>Tony raised an eyebrow in a way that made Steve’s face warm, but he handed over his glass, “Sure. Thank you.” He leaned over on the table as Steve stood at the sink. “So, I thought you were just filming a section. How long are we going to be in there?”</p><p>“There’s a couple sections, and I’ll do them twice just to be sure,” Steve explained. He grinned at Tony over his shoulder, “Part of the reason it’ll be so helpful to have a cameraman.”</p><p>Tony’s eyeroll made Steve laugh, but he was smiling, too. He accepted the glass Steve handed back to him, and followed him when Steve nodded for them to head into the office. Earlier, he’d set up his backdrop and the camera, and gotten the first small set written out on the board. He checked the camera angle again as Tony explored the space a little.</p><p>“Anything like you imagined?” Steve asked, taking off his sweater and fixing his leotard as Tony read the board.</p><p>“Not quite. I mean, after last week, I thought you filmed at the school.” He walked around the back of the desk, looking at the camera over Steve’s shoulder.</p><p>“Just sometimes, when I want to use equipment I don’t have at home.” Steve smiled down at Tony, and then started explaining some of the camera functions. “This starts and stops the filming, and this one just pauses it. It’s easier to edit, if you just use the pause for the two sections. So, I’ll do what’s on the board once, and you can pause it and let me get a drink, then I’ll do it again, and then hit the stop. Then again for the second section.”</p><p>Tony nodded, and futzed a little with the buttons a moment, “Alright. Yeah, okay, I think I’ve got it.” He smiled up at Steve. “Go do your little groove thang.”</p><p>Laughter bubbled up out of Steve as he headed around to the front of the camera, “Careful. I might just use that for next week.” He checked the note he’d made for himself on the corner of the whiteboard about where to start the music, and fast-forwarded through the song.</p><p>He looked up as Tony gasped, scandalized, “But Steve, that’s a 70s record!”</p><p>“It’s only a couple years off,” he defended. “Besides,” he added, smirking, “I can tell everyone my boyfriend picked it out for me.”</p><p>For a moment, he wondered if the comment was a little too much, too fast. But Tony blushed prettily, and Steve couldn’t help as his smirk grew into a grin.</p><p>“You move pretty fast Rogers, should I be nervous?” Tony teased.</p><p>“I was going to ask you the same. I didn’t realize how much you enjoyed the tights,” Steve teased right back. His cheeks heated again, but he was at least glad to see Tony blush deepen with him.</p><p>“Playing dirty, I see,” Tony muttered, turning his focus down to the camera as he fidgeted with the buttons.</p><p>Steve let him be, then, smiling softly to himself as he found the spot on the track. “Okay, so… Tony, I’ll have you start the recording and then come over and hit play on this.”</p><p>Tony agreed, and then looked over at Steve confused, “How did you do it before?”</p><p>“I had to start the music earlier than I wanted,” he said, shrugging. He sat on the floor to stretch. “But this will be easier, I think. It’ll give be a cleaner place to cut the clip.”</p><p>The look on Tony’s face as his eyes flicked between Steve’s boombox and his camera was interesting. He looked like he might be taking them apart with his eyes. In all honestly, it was kind of hot. But Steve just kept stretching, trying to keep his mind in the right place while he got ready to film.</p><p>Steve finished his stretches and got into his correct position, checking his board one more time before asking Tony to start the camera. As he worked through the sets, he kept his focus on the camera, trying not to blush too hard at the thought of Tony watching him. Between his sets, he asked Tony to hand him a water bottle. Tony didn’t say much at that point, but he did nod at Steve appreciatingly. Steve stood to change the board for the second sets, and noticed how Tony shifted, almost hiding himself behind the desk and camera.</p><p>Realization dawned on him slower than he was proud of, but he felt himself flush from a little more than his workout. “Are you alright?” he asked, instead of calling more crude attention to it.</p><p>“Yeah,” Tony answered, quickly. “I’m fine. Ready to film.” He gave Steve a small salute, and a smile.</p><p>Steve, for his part, couldn’t hold back a grin, and saluted him back. “Alright. Just give me another second to cool down a bit.” His eyes flicked down, even though he couldn’t actually see the front of Tony’s slacks. “You, too.”</p><p>Tony’s arms crossed, “Now you’re just teasing me.”</p><p>“Maybe,” Steve allowed, stretching out his arms a little as he walked back over to his player to fast-forward the track again.</p><p>Did he actually need to film the last few minutes of this episode? No. Did Tony know that? Also no. But at some point during the week, Tony had let slip that he liked how Steve could lift his foot up above his head as far as he did. Steve couldn’t let such a golden opportunity go to waste.</p><p>The first time through, he filmed properly. The second time, he looked up past the camera, straight into Tony’s eyes as he lifted his leg up, and winked.</p><p>“Don’t stop stretching those legs!”</p><p>Steve held the pose just a moment, and then let his leg down. He chuckled to himself, thinking he’d never seen someone turn off a camera as fast as Tony just had.</p><p>“Are you trying to kill me?” Tony burst, hand dramatically clutching at his chest. “You’re trying to kill me, Steven. Aren’t you?”</p><p>“I would never,” Steve replied, calmly beginning his cooldown stretches. “If I killed you, I couldn’t have any more fun with you, and what’s the point in that?”</p><p>Silence filled the room, and a small part of Steve was endlessly pleased that he’d made Tony Stark speechless. Steve turned his head to grin up at him, almost giggling despite the electric tension hanging in the air. Slowly, Steve sat up, his legs crisscrossed and his back straight. Tony took a couple measured steps out from behind the desk, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. Steve was pleased to note that wasn’t the only thing tightening on Tony’s person.</p><p>“My dear Steve,” Tony started, voice low, “are you intending to proposition me?” Steve’s answering smirk seemed to be enough of an answer, and Tony’s cheeks lit up again. “<em>Christ</em>, Steve,” Tony huffed, his bravado failing as his hands flew up to his face, covering his cheeks and fidgeting with his glasses.</p><p>God, Tony was <em>adorable</em>.</p><p>Steve carefully got to his feet and made sure his player was off. His own body was beginning to respond, though he stayed a careful distance away from Tony. He smiled more shyly and folded his hands in front of himself.</p><p>“I’m not gonna pressure you into anything,” he assured, even though Tony seemed very interested. “If it’s too soon, I completely understand. But I’m not against- hmf!”</p><p>Tony cut Steve off with a kiss, much quicker than Steve had managed in the break room, and with much, much more heat. Steve’s arms immediately wrapped around him to hold him close as Tony’s hands pulled Steve’s head down. His cheek bumped against Tony’s glasses, but it barely registered as Tony parted his lips and coaxed Steve to do the same. Even though the slide of Tony’s tongue against his was delicious, Steve had to break the kiss to breathe, since he’d been surprised.</p><p>“Don’t get me wrong, I love the tights,” Tony rumbled, voice lower than Steve had ever heard, making his knees week, “but I want to peel them off you.”</p><p>Steve heard himself make a noise, feeling rather pathetic, and watched Tony’s eyes dilate. He decided that he couldn’t wait after that, and pulled Tony out of the office towards the bedroom.</p><p>“<em>Please</em>.”</p><p>They kissed all the way down the hall, both of them trying to undo buttons on Tony’s shirt. It was nearly fully undone by the time they made it to the bedroom, and Tony kicked the door shut behind them. Steve broke away to pull off his leotard. Tony untucked and shucked his button-up, reaching out in time to stop Steve from taking off his crop top. His hands cupped Steve’s pecs through the tight material, making Steve shiver as his thumbs brushed over where Steve’s nipples were showing.</p><p>“I like this color on you,” Tony murmured, leaning forward to press kisses across Steve’s exposed collarbone. “It suits you.”</p><p>Steve’s head tipped back, and he gripped Tony’s elbows, pulling him over to the bed. Tony didn’t lift his mouth from Steve’s skin. He started to suck marks up Steve’s throat, and Steve couldn’t hold back a moan. Impatiently, Steve tried to undo Tony’s belt, his hands already trembling with anticipation and making it difficult. Tony simply chuckled against Steve’s jaw, reaching down to steady Steve’s hands.</p><p>“I got it.”</p><p>Steve shivered again, and let Tony push him down onto the bed. He laid back, hips at the edge, and Tony pressed his hands against the mattress, by his head. Steve didn’t dare move them, his breath stuttering.</p><p>
  <em>Oh.</em>
</p><p>Steve’s mind raced as he watched Tony undo his belt, slowly sliding it through the loops. Any nerves Tony might’ve had before seemed to have evaporated, leaving this confident, <em>sexy</em> version of the engineer that was undressing Steve with his eyes and making his skin burn. Steve whimpered softly and Tony was quick to drop his belt. He kicked off his shoes and pushed off his slacks, gloriously naked, except for his briefs. Steve wanted to ask him to take them off, but the words died on his tongue as Tony’s fingers skirted the hem of his tights. His breath hitched again, and Steve’s eyes screwed shut in anticipation.</p><p>Tony’s fingers stopped. Why did they stop? His hands settled solidly on Steve’s hips, “Hey. Steve, look at me real quick.” Steve obeyed, blushing. “You okay?”</p><p>Okay? Steve was <em>great</em>. “Yeah,” he breathed. “D-Don’t stop…”</p><p>Tony watched him a moment, and then nodded, leaning back up to kiss Steve. It was gentler than before. “Just remember to breathe, sweetheart.” He pulled back and smirked, “And maybe keep your eyes on me.”</p><p>He said “maybe” like it wasn’t really an option. The instruction set Steve’s belly on fire. Tony’s fingers hooked in Steve’s tights and his dancer’s belt, sliding them down his legs, torturously slowly. He inched them down, pressing kisses down the inside of Steve’s thighs, all the way down and making the heat in his belly burn hotter until he was sure he’d burst. He gasped as they finally slipped off, Tony pressing a kiss to his ankle and sending a tickle up Steve’s leg. Tony laughed when Steve’s foot twitched, and then kissed him there again before slowly mouthing his way back up Steve’s legs to his hip. Tony hooked his hands under Steve’s thighs and pressed his legs further apart, holding him open.</p><p>“You’re all red, Steve,” Tony murmured, voice still sinfully low. “Are you going to make it?”</p><p>Steve huffed a small laugh, face aflame and his lower belly throbbing with warmth. “Not if you keep me waiting like this,” Steve answered, almost giggling with nerves as he gripped the sheets where Tony had placed his hands. His hips rolled, trying unsuccessfully to grind against Tony’s. “Tony, please,” he begged, “don’t stop.”</p><p>“Okay, sweetheart,” Tony purred, leaning down to kiss Steve again as he finally let their hips roll together.</p><p>Tony didn’t stop again until both he and Steve were a panting mess, lying haphazardly across the bed, sticky and sated. Steve was still foggy, warm and tingly all over, as Tony pushed himself up off the bed, shuffling into the bathroom to dampen a washcloth. He must’ve cleaned himself while he was there, because he cleaned only Steve up when he made it back to the bedroom.</p><p>Steve had to move, finally, as Tony pulled down the sheets they’d been on top of, letting them lay on the slightly-drier fitted sheet. Steve curled up to Tony’s side, resting his head on his chest.</p><p>“You know,” Tony began, voice soft as he pet Steve’s hair, “I could probably rig up something for you for your music. If you let me hook up a computer to your camera, we could work out some timing software to get your music to start when you want it to. Unless your box is older than it looks. Then I’d have to get a couple adapters and-”</p><p>“D’you always talk shop after?” Steve couldn’t help but interrupt, smiling softly up at him.</p><p>A new blush spread over Tony cheeks, and Steve found he liked it just as much as he had the first time. “Um, well, I mean…” Steve grinned wider. <em>Adorable</em>. “Sometimes. Do you want me to stop?”</p><p>Steve just cupped his cheek and pulled him down to kiss him gently. “Will you come get coffee with me this weekend?” He never wanted Tony to stop.</p><p>Slowly, Tony grinned right back down at Steve, and pressed a kiss to his temple, “I’d love to.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>All things considered, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out, because I don't write smut, but I think chapter turned out pretty good anyways. </p><p>I hope you enjoyed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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